Benjamin Markovits’s new novel is a timely tale of urban gentrification and the shape of American society. The narrator, Greg Marnier, or Marney, is a Yale and Oxford graduate whose life slipped off the apparently gilded rails. He finds himself back to square one, the wrong side of 30. From an uninspiring teaching post in Wales he returns to be part of a social experiment, taking up residence in a rundown neighbourhood in Detroit. The urban renewal project is the brainchild of Marney’s Yale buddy, Robert James, who made millions at a young age. Ostensibly, the project is a trial for the rebuilding of Detroit, but is actually Robert’s pitch to gain the attention of the Obama administration. Matters become complicated by racial attitudes and violence. It’s a thought-provoking story, compelling and highly relevant.
